Youth and Young Manhood
by indierockchick
Summary: Like everyone on this site, I suck at summaries. Like blurbs, they are pointless and misleading. But I feel obliged to write one, so you can get the gist of the story. Basically, it's about the Marauders 'adventures' throughout their school years. And it'd be great if you could read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**So, um... after about 5 months of falling off the face of the earth, not that anyone would've cared, I've returned with a decentish story! It's just the Mauraders, going through the seven years of Hogwarts, with some connections to the plotline of the books, but mostly just going with the flow! And that sounds like complete rubbish. Sorry. Just... read and review if you feel like it. I'd love to know what you think!**

James

It was the eve of his eleventh birthday and he was bouncing around in a fit of hyperactivness. In just four hours, he'll be finding out whether or not he's been accepted.

His mother smiled at him, but even he, a ten year old child could see the strain she put on it. His dad ruffled his hair, and then resumed pacing around nervously. His brother, Harvey, was not present which confused James a bit, seeing as he was older than him, but then, there was something a bit strange about Harvey so maybe that was why.

Time passed quickly, and soon enough, it was only a few more minutes till he found out. They counted down the seconds. five... four... three... two... one... He was finally eleven! He felt a burst of pride surge in his chest. After all these months of waiting, it had finally happened. And there was more to come.

He hadn't noticed it but his Dad seemed to have a letter in his hands, obviously just delivered by owls. He passed it to his son, who with trembling fingers, slowly opened it. He stared at it for a minute that seemed to last a lifetime. 'So what does it say?' His mother asked nervously.

'It says… it says I'm going to HOGWARTS!' He yelled excitedly, before being enveloped in his mothers crushing hug. 'We're so proud of you,' His father said, as he felt his Mum's tears streaming onto his shirt. He knew this wasn't normal, but who cared? None of his family was normal. They were wizards...

Sirius

It had been no more than five months after his birthday that on the same night Sirius got his letter.

He stared at it in excitement and wonder, then quickly ripped it open scanned it then threw it on the kitchen table as he ran upstairs. He burst through his parents' bedroom screeching, 'I'm a wizard! Oh my gosh I'm a wizard!'

'Yeah yeah we get it! It's not like you were gonna be a squib! We're the Blacks for god's sake! Now go back to bed!' His mother groaned miserably.

Sirius skulked out grumbling, and then hesitantly knocked on his brother Regulus's door. They were close when they were young but had grown apart considerably when Reggie went to Hogwarts.

'Come in,' Sighed Reggie, so Sirius tentatively opened the door and tiptoed into his room. 'I know why your here,' Reggie explained. 'You're upset mother didn't react more excitedly, so came up here for some sympathy and comfort. Well you're not gonna find any here so bugger off. You're a Black. You'll be put into Slytherin, you'll pass easily enough, and you'll come out married to your cousin while working for Voldemort,' He finished with a smirk.

Sirius backed out slowly. He was horrified by that image, and vowed to himself to do something to stop him becoming like that... (Yeah Reggie's older than him in this but because he's the bad guy I thought he should be older- he's finished Hogwarts as well, just to make the story a bit easier)

Lily

For Lily, it had been a comfortably normal evening, watching telly and planning her birthday party that would be happening in a few weeks time.

She went to bed at normal time and had a relatively peaceful sleep, until she was woken up at around two am by a soft tapping at her window. Expecting it to be Severus, to drag her off to their field to show her something, she got out of bed and walked to the window. Instead of Severus there though, there was a small tawny owl, flapping its wings and tapping at the glass with its beak.

She noticed there was something attached to its foot and so swung open the door. It swooped in, dropped the letter then swiftly flew out. She opened the letter and as she was reading it her jaw dropped. This must be a dream, she thought. I'll wake up tomorrow and it'll be gone, she convinced herself, so she stumbled back into bed and once again drifted into a peaceful slumber.

But it seemed like only a few seconds before her mother woke her up saying there was someone wanting to talk things over and explain something to her...

Remus

His birthday had been the first out of everyone's, and so he had to wait the longest for his letter.

His parents had, to his annoyance, let his seven year old brother and five year old sister stay up at well. It wasn't fair! He was the important one tonight so why should they get to stay up?

But the letter came early, so Madeline and Dan had to go to bed at respectable times, whereas Remus got to stay up for a few more hours before getting sent to bed. But still he couldn't get to sleep, so decided to go out on the patio to mull over the prospect of becoming a wizard.

He went and made himself a hot chocolate and cut a hunk of cheddar. After half an hour of looking up at the stars and thinking of all the things he'd be doing in two months time, he decided to retreat back into the house.

But before he could, the werewolf struck...


	2. Chapter 2

**People. Get ready to be excited! Because chapter 2 is here! Yay! So, little shout out to everyone who's reviewed. Well, the 3 people who have. But for 1 chapter that's pretty good right? **

**Leftmango - who has a brilliant collection of stories revolving around the next generation of HP, including one about Lily and Scorpius (what would rose do?) which is trés adorable!**

**MissMaal - who's cute story entitled, The things that make it all worth, is about Lily falling for James, and more people need to read it!**

**Cha0s C0ntr0l- who is also massively under reviewed in her story 'Harry Potter and the Fellowship of the ring' which made me laugh way too much, and had an appropriate amount of 'Bloody Hell' -ing from Ron.**

**I'm sorry for this too long authors note, and for the lateness. Now you can**

** update using iPods, these updates will get way more frequent... Hopefully. Anyway... Without further ado, lets get in with the story!**

Two months had gone by. Everyone had been to diagon alley, to buy their wands and their robes and their pets. For Remus though, the two months had been the most stressful of his life so far. Things had changed. A lot.

'Goodbye Honey! We love you!' called Remus's parents as he boarded the train.

'Be careful won't you sweetheart? Make sure you stay out of trouble!' Yelled Lily's parents after pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

'Don't let the nargles bite eh Sirius,' Regulus teased. He had been the only family member accompanying Sirius to the Hogwarts express. You know, cos he was going on it himself.

'Promise to write every day James! We'll write back, and Harvey will send you letters to!'

James's parents were always one to coddle him. But he was eleven not five! A quick hug then off on the train with all the other first years frantically waving to their families. Then it was the mad scramble to get into a decent compartment. James found himself in an empty corridor, except for a boy his age with short mussed up brown hair and a worried expression.

'Uh... Hi?,' said James approaching the kid. 'Hullo,' The boy replied 'I'm Remus. You?'

'James,' he answered, thrilled he had someone to talk to. 'Do you wanna go find somewhere to sit?' he asked shyly.

'Sure! Sounds fun!'

They meandered down the corridor in a comfortable silence, occasionally peering through doors to see if any were free. After checking about five different compartments, they finally found one with only one boy in, about eleven with floppy black hair and a lazy smile. He noticed them peering inside and gestured for them to come in. They gingerly stepped in. 'So you two are..?' the trailed off. 'Um I'm Remus and this is James,' he stuttered nervously.

'Cool. I'm Sirius,'

'Is your middle name Lee eh?' As per usual, James just had to be a cocky bastard.

'Excuse me?' Sirius stood up.

'Uh nothing? I'm sorry I just don't know when to keep my mouth shut sometimes.' He shielded his face, waiting for the blow that didn't come. Instead, he found Sirius laughing.

'You two are alright you know. Stick around I guess.'

James and Remus smiled gratefully, and settled into the seats. Five minutes later, they were laughing and joking as they had all known each other since birth.

'And so you have an Irishman, and a Scottishman, and they're walking into a bar then...' Sirius trailed off, having been silenced by a knock on the door. A girl with long flowing

auburn hair hesitantly opened the door. James snapped to attention, giving her a look that was usually reserved for pedophiles.

'So I was erm... Looking for a... Can you please uh stop staring at me please if that's ok?'

'Wh-wh-what? I was doing what now? Oh sorry, it's just that you were so beautiful I couldn't take my eyes off of you,'

The girl sighed, and left the room, while Remus and Sirius sighed.

'Bit corny dude?'

'But... she is!' James said defensively, 'It int my fault she's easily scared.'

Remus and Sirius spent the rest of the train ride going on about it while James sat sulking and eating chocolate frogs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello to any of you guys that are still alive! Oh gosh, I'm so sorry for completely ignoring this story. I guess... I got writers block, gave up on this, and moved on to writing another story. But I... I dunno. All I know is that I have a new chapter from this story which you should all definitely read! Thank you's to**

**Cha0s C0ntr0l for reviewing again :D and**

**Mrs Percy James Mellark too. :3**

**Hope you enjoy!**

'Avery, William.'

The boy confidently slunk up the stairs, practically oozing confidence. The sorting hat was placed on his head and the whole of the Great Hall was in complete silence. After a terrifyingly quiet few seconds, the sorting hat made up its mind.

'Slytherin!'

The snakes shouted, pumping their fists in the air while the other houses let out long sighs. Dumbledore raised his hand to resume the silence and the next person was called.

Sirius was stiff as a board. Only one more person and he'd be next. He didn't want to go in Slytherin. But there was one small problem. Every single Black on the family tree had been put into Slytherin. His future had basically been planned from when he was conceived. There was no way he could have it any different.

'Black, Sirius.'

Taking deep breaths, he stepped up to the chair and closed his eyes. He could still feel the hundreds of Slytherin's eyes boring into him.

'A Black eh? Obviously this is an easy decision. I'm guessing you're going to be in 'S-'' the hat was cut off by Sirius thinking

'Don't make me be in Slytherin. Hufflepuff would be better than them. I'm begging you. '

'Huh. Well that's strange. But I can tell your heart is set on it.

Hmm... Not kind enough to be a Hufflepuff. Not smart enough for Racenclaw, but... plenty of courage I see. I suppose you'd better be in...'Gryffindor!'

A cacophony of gasps rippled across the Great Hall. Sirius smiled triumphantly, slid down, and walked happily to the Gryffindor table. McGonagall carried on with the sorting.

James gaped in astonishment. He'd never expect a Black, even Sirius, to be put in Gryffindor. He grinned to himself. Now he just needed Remus and that beautiful girl he'd met on the train- what was her name? Oh wait. She never told him- to get in Gryffindor and it'd all be hunky dory. He would naturally be sorted into Gryffindor. He was after all, a Potter. Then it suddenly occurred to him that Sirius was a Black, and he wasn't put into his families house. Would that happen to him?

While that horrid thought was running through his head, several sortings had passed, but the next made him snap to attention.

'Evans, Lily!'

The beautiful girl with the auburn hair from the train stepped up into the chair while Mcgonagall rammed the hat onto her head. James held his breath, praying.

'Hmm... Pleasure to meet you Lily,'

the hat said pleasantly.

'It's an honour to meet you too hat. My friend Severus told me a lot about you,'

'Severus who?'

'Snape? His mother was in Slytherin; he told me that was the best house, and he was gonna be in it, and I should be as well.'

'Well my dear, I'm afraid it's not as easy as that. Many people in Slytherin... Despite being perfectly lovely... Don't exactly condone muggle borns, I'm afraid. Still, the other three houses are delightful.'

'Oh, ok I guess,' sighed a crestfallen Lily. The hat gave a sympathetic croon, then resumed to sorting her.

'Hmm... Though you're fiercely loyal, I can't see you reaching you're full potential in Hufflepuff. That leaves either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. You certainly have the intelligence to be an Eagle, but I can see you're extremely fearless and love adventures. Tough decision... But I'll have to go with...

Gryffindor!'

While the table full off Lions started yelling happily, James grinned. Until he heard cursing coming from behind him. He spun around and looked at the greasy haired boy in the oversized robes behind him. The boy noticed him staring.

'And you are?'

'Potter. James Potter. And you?'

'Snape. Snape. Severus Snape.'

'Dumbledore!'

The voice belonging to Peeves bounced around the hall, followed by a series of loud cackles. The two boys looked on in confusion, then turned to face one another.

'Severus Snape? I suppose your parents hate you then?'

'Well yes. But that's not the reason why I'm called this.'

James was surprised that this scrap of a boy was challenging him; who did he think he was?

'Not surprised really mate. Most people who've met you would have hated you the moment they set eyes on you,' James laughed.

Severus, who unfortunately had a cold, sniffed and wiped his sleeve against his nose. James eyes lit up.

'Severus? More like Snivellus!'

The boy in front of him, who was a chubby kid with rat-like features, laughed nervously.

'Good one!' he said, then realised he'd spoken and turned back around.

'Wait!' James rather liked the idea of having a friend who just gaze on at awe. Actually, forget the friend part. More like... Minion.

'What's your name then eh?'

'Uh... Peter Pettigrew. Your James Potter right?'

'The one and only!'

'Ha! You're quite funny you know.'

'Ooh. Got yourself a boyfriend then Potter?' Severus spat out in disgust.

James looked at him pityingly.

'Aw. Just because no one likes you Snivellus. I can't help how people find me so amazing. Must be because of my charisma and wit. Two things you obviously haven't got.'

This made Peter burst into laughter, which was quickly stifled by a stern look from Professor McGonnagal.

Qwenog Jones had just been sorted into Ravenclaw, and Remus began to have a green tinge tainting his cheeks. He was next, and as Professor McGonnagal called out his name, he felt like someone had placed the jelly-legged jinx upon him. McGonagall placed the hat on his hat, and he shut his eyes, willing for this to be over quickly.

'Ah, Remus Lupin. I've heard a lot about you,'

'You mean... You know about... About my... Um...'

'If by um... You mean being a werewolf Lupin, yes, I am fully aware of this. You hear a lot of things in Dumbledore's office, I can tell you. Now if you don't mind I think we should get on with the sorting!

'Hmm... Well, seeing as you're a 'crossbreed' if you don't mind me saying, I'd have to rule out Slytherin as an option. Well... I can see after your incident you are timid, but you were once fearless. I think we could get you back to that state. So I suppose the obvious choice is... Gryffindor!'

Lupin felt like he could fly as he floated over to the Lion's table and plonked himself into the seat next to Sirius, who nudged him and grinned. Lupin smiled back, and for the first time in a long while, felt happy.

Meanwhile, Severus was still shooting dirty looks at James, who in return stuck his tongue, with Peter looking on, admiration clearly displayed across his face. James smirked back at Snape while Peter's name was called. After a few anxious minutes, the hat called out

'Gryffindor!'

And Peter scuttled over to the Lion's table, looking gleefully over at James.

James however, was feeling anything but gleeful. McGonnagal called out his name and he trudged over to the stool.

What if he was placed in Slytherin?

What if he was placed in... He could barely think the name... Hufflepuff?

There was no time for chickening out now though, so he straightened his back and closed his eyes.

'Ah. James Potter. Pleasure to meet you.'

**So thanks for reading! Tell me what you think, if you have any ideas for this, or if you want to tell me how crap I am at writing fanfiction in the reviews. **

**Criticism is welcome, as is praise ;D **

**Next chapter Will hopefully be up soon, so see you guys soon! **


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